It's All Over
by fawny
Summary: Desperate to escape all that has befallen her, Hollyleaf runs into the tunnels in which she and her brothers set paw so many moons ago. But she doesn't escape in the way that she wishes... ONESHOT. Set in Sunrise.


I haven't read Sunrise yet. But I know the details - I have caught glimpses of the pages inside. I just _had_ to write this scene - it's so angsty and dramatic! :D Don't worry; I'm buying Sunrise soon. If I've missed any crucial details (e.g. Jayfeather shouts, "I hate you!" to his sister or something), feel free to review and tell me what I did wrong.

REVISED: 7/8/10**  
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"I _know_ I did the right thing, but no cat will ever understand."

There was a heartbeat of silence as my two brothers stared back at me. Jayfeather's robin-blue gaze was slightly glazed over, as usual, but it was easy to see that he was just stunned, completely bowled over. Lionblaze's amber eyes were shocked and upset_—_but iciness lurked in them.

_Jayfeather may not blame me for what I did… but Lionblaze does.  
_

Without another word, I spun around and darted into the tunnels in which the three of us had once padded side by side when trying to rescue the lost WindClan kits. Earth brushed my face as I took refuge inside the tunnels. Behind me I could hear Jayfeather's desperate, alarmed yowls: "Hollyleaf, no! We can figure this out together_—_"

His voice was cut off after a roar as earsplitting as a thunderclap began echoing inside. I stopped when it seemed as though I were deep enough inside so that even all of my mistakes would not be able to find me. Still trembling with desolation, I huddled in a ball_—_then froze as the noise grew louder.

_The tunnel was collapsing._

The ceiling of the tunnel began to crumble. Mud and gravel were falling down. I squeaked as a pebble struck my ear, quaking once more but this time with fear. Letting out a screech of terror, I tried to escape the rapidly caving tunnel, but there was no escape. The two ends of the tunnel had been sealed by rocks and earth. I was trapped.

"No!" I screamed. I had never meant to die, just to hide away in the caves for a while. As quickly as I could, I darted to one of the mouths, clawing desperately at the blockage. But it was futile: there were no more escape routes. I was going to die.

_No more battles with ShadowClan,_ my heart cried. _I'll never be a mentor, never even be a queen… I won't die as Hollystar but Holly_leaf_… It's all over. I might not even go to StarClan__—__I've done so many bad things in my life. I killed Ashfur. I embarrassed Leafpool and Squirrelflight in front of all the Clans. It's all over._

"So you are to die here as well."

I spun around in shock as a voice that wasn't mine spoke up. A lithe tom with ginger-and-white fur stood before me, striped tail wrapped around his paws. His sky-blue eyes shone encouragingly at me.

"Who are you?" I whispered, too despondent to show any aggression.

"My name is Fallen Leaves." The cat blinked at me curiously. "Who are you?"

I hesitated. Was I already dead and hallucinating, or was this really happening? The former seemed more likely, and even if the latter was true, what was there to lose by revealing my name to this Fallen Leaves? "I'm… I'm Hollyleaf."

"Hollyleaf," repeated Fallen Leaves thoughtfully. "Your name is foreign on my tongue… it resembles another cat's name, one whom I met exploring these tunnels not too long ago. Jay Paw."

A shiver ran up my spine as the strange apparition said my brother's name. "J-Jayfeather," I corrected. "He's my brother."

"Hmm." Fallen Leaves tilted his head to one side, still staring at me inquisitively. "You look familiar, Holly Leaf. Have I seen you somewhere before?" His azure eyes suddenly widened, and he exclaimed, "Oh! I saw you before, when you, Jay Paw, and those six other cats were exploring these tunnels. One of them was broad-shouldered with a golden pelt and ocher eyes." _Lionblaze._ "Another had fawn-brown tabby fur with big blue eyes. I never forget the color of those eyes; they were so pretty!" _Heathertail._ "One of the others had a crow-black coat, as dark as yours. He had a bit of a short temper." I bristled as the vision described Breezepelt, my… my _half-brother._ "The other cats were kits, weren't they? They looked a bit small and straggly to be softpaws or sharpclaws."

"Yes," I murmured, another icy jolt tingling through my body. This cat had seen us stumbling through the tunnels a few moons ago. All eight of us had been frightened for our lives_—_except Jayfeather. He alone had been calm and unruffled, as though he knew his way through the underground tunnels very well. Had Fallen Leaves _guided_ him through?

Before I could dwell on the thought, a chunk of soil smashed onto my head. I cried out in pain, realizing that the tunnel was collapsing faster than ever. Instinctively my eyes darted around, searching frantically for a hole in which to hide away, an opening, _anything_ to escape death. "Fallen Leaves!" I cried, flattening myself against the walls of the tunnel. "Help me."

But the cat had vanished. I stared disbelievingly at the earth that he'd just occupied_—_there was nothing there but air. I was alone. And it was all over.

More rubble descended upon me, and with every dropping piece I felt just a little more of my mind fall into darkness. At last I was nearly buried, but by then I was nearly unconscious.

My mind was just barely clear enough for one last thought, however. As a huge stone began wiggling violently, trying to get loose of the ceiling's grasp, I closed my eyes for the last time. _Goodbye, ThunderClan. It's all over. I didn't expect to die so soon… but maybe it will be better for the Clan if I do._

Then gravity pulled the stone down onto my head, and darkness lapped me up.

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7/8/10: This wasn't _that_ bad, actually, but it was rushed because I wrote it as quickly as possible in an attempt to make this the first Hollyleaf's-death fic. :P I succeeded, I think. But it doesn't really matter to me anymore, so whatever.

You may notice that I stressed "it's all over" in this fic a lot. 'Twas the reason for the title. Just in case you didn't pick that up. (:


End file.
